"Certainly; she can stop here very well on her way to Ostend. She would be at Ostend now but for this affair. Perhaps that is another reason why she is ill-humoured. She is so fond of life and gaiety, and in summer Markheim is rather dull. Besides, there is the tradition to maintain."
"How do you know that she is in an ill-humour," questioned Sue, "if you have not seen her?"
"Oh, she writes to me—I had a letter from her this morning. I can see she is not well-pleased—quite the opposite, in fact!—at the way things are going."
"And how are they going?"
"They seem to be going against us," said the Prince, with a touch of bitterness.
"But how can they be? I thought things were at a stand-still until
Lord Vernon got—got well enough to take them up again."
"So did I—that is what one would naturally suppose. Yet it seems that an undercurrent has set in against us. I fear that I made a mistake," he added, gloomily, "in agreeing with Lord Vernon not to proceed further for a week, though, under the circumstances, I could scarcely refuse. He seems well enough," and he glanced around, "to hear what I have to say."
"He is well enough!" cried Sue, indignantly; and certainly at that moment, talking eagerly to Nell, that gentleman appeared quite the reverse of an invalid. "I will speak to him—I am under no promise—I believe—"
She stopped, fearing that she might say too much—after all, she could not betray Lord Vernon; she could only appeal to him, warn him.
"Yes?" her companion encouraged her, his eyes on her face.